Ready to Read: Literacy Tips for the Expectant Family

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Begin activities that will set your child up
to be a lifelong reader while you're still waiting for him to be
born. Defining yourselves as a family that reads regularly will set
the course for reading readiness after your baby arrives.

Set up a daily reading time for yourself.
Find a place away from distraction, and be sure you have good
lighting and a comfortable chair with plenty of room for a small
person to join you later. Enjoy reading each day, and the habit will
be well established by the time you have a small partner to share
that time.

Find your old storybooks from your own
childhood. You'll be surprised by how many of the stories and
pictures will bring up strong memories. Some books will seem dated;
some will seem timeless. Decide which ones you want to share. Talk to
your own parents or other relatives who read to you and say thanks.
Now you're ready to carry on the reading traditions of your family.

Put books on your baby shower gift lists and
registries. Your friends may give your baby the lasting stories that
were important to them or to their children. It's a ready-made review
service for children's literature, as the best books are the ones
that are loved the most.

Take a house tour from a reader's
perspective. In a home that supports reading, every room should have
books in it. Does yours? If a child grows up surrounded by books, he
is more likely to make them a regular part of his life. Are you a
good model for this immersion pattern?

As you visit daycare providers and centers,
or interview care providers who will come into your home, ask about
reading and story time. See whether reading is a priority and a
regular part of their planned care. Make sure they understand that
you think reading is important. You'll want to consider many issues
when picking childcare, and reading and language activities should be
on your list of things to ask about as you make the decision.

Write your baby's daily story. Start a book
that tells what you do each day in the last part of your pregnancy. A
detailed description of one event or a short observation, perhaps
with a sketch, will be meaningful to your child later as he reads
what you did together in the days and weeks before he was born.
Children love their own story more than any other, so start writing
it now. You'll be surprised how soon you'll have to begin sharing
authorship with a toddler eager to have you take his dictation as he
narrates his days.

"There is nothing so amazing as the development of a child," says Suzanne Dixon, M.D., a behavioral and developmental pediatrician who was one of the founding members of the Pampers Parenting Network. "Every day is a new adventure when you have a child around you. I never get tired of learning from the children who have been a part of my life, professionally and personally."Suzanne Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota, School of Medicine. She did her pediatric training at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and then completed a fellowship in Child Development at Boston's Children's Hospital. Dr. Dixon joined the faculty at the University of California, San Diego, and did patient care, teaching, and research for 20 years. She ran a large newborn service, performed research in early child development, and was involved in many community outreach activities in maternal child health. Throughout her entire professional life she has maintained an interest in cross-cultural activities, living and working in many parts of the world, including Mexico, India, Kenya, Indonesia, and several countries from the former U.S.S.R. Dr. Dixon is the author of numerous research articles, review articles, and textbook chapters in pediatrics, child and family development, and public health. Her textbook, written with Dr. Martin Stein, Encounters With Children: Pediatric Behavior and Development, has become a classic in child health education and is in its fourth edition. She is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, an international journal of high standing in the professional world. She also has served as an associate editor for Infant Mental Health and currently reviews for several major pediatric journals. Dr. Dixon is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and served in national positions in that organization. She is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the Society for Research in Child Development, the American Public Health Association, and the Executive Council of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She serves as consultant to several national and international organizations and has received an award from Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.Dr. Dixon continues to lecture and consult worldwide on aspects of maternal, child, and family health. She practices behavioral and developmental pediatrics in Montana and works with local advocacy groups on education and women''s health. Dr. Dixon has been married for over 30 years and has three sons. She and her husband travel frequently, are outdoor enthusiasts, and enjoy being amateur anthropologists.

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